Piecaramba!

Had a lovely dinner out this evening with my family. We went to a little independent place in Winchester called Piecaramba! (The exclamation mark is part of the name.) 

It opened four years ago, in October 2016, and it's been far too long since I've been there, a couple of years at least. I love it partly because the food is amazing, but also because it's associated with some relatively early social times, when I was living and working in Winchester and starting to be a bit more social and make friends. I went there a number of times with my housemates and their wider circle of friends, and my work colleagues from my first full-time job. I was pleased to see it's still the same, casual and quirky, the walls covered in nerdy stuff like comic book images and film posters. It's small, with four tables in at the moment, but even before Covid there were only seven or so. It's been popular from the start, and does well, but it's nice that the owners haven't started a big chain or gone to larger premises or sold themselves to a larger company, they've kept their vibe and ethos and have for now chosen to just keep doing what they do well. They opened one in Southampton in late 2017 and then a third one in Brighton in late 2019, both still small, and have food stalls at festivals and cater for weddings. The Brighton one fell victim to Covid-caused loss of footfall in August, but happily they partnered with a local pub and have based themselves there since, so people can still get their pies.

I also love that they specialise in just one type of food - pie and mash. There's a wide variety of choices on the menu and they're all amazing. (Not that I've tried more than a few - I'm the sort of person who tends to go for dishes I know I love and have an opportunity to enjoy, rather than trying something new, unless it sounds amazing). It's all sooo tasty and great quality. I usually go for either the Sweetie Pie (used to be called the Heidi Pie - sweet potato, roasted garlic, and goat's cheese), or the Woolverine (lamb in redcurrant & red wine gravy with garlic and rosemary). But tonight I opted for one of their Christmas specials, the Hogmanay - hog roast, spiced apple sauce, and sage & onion stuffing! With cheesy mash, chilli-mint mushy peas, and onion gravy. Oh and it came with crispy crackling on top! Yum, all delicious! As always, it was super filling, and I had to leave some of the mash and pastry, haha. And I even had a cider too, instead of just water! :) (For those who don't know, I very rarely drink.) I did get a cherry pie to take away, though, to have for dessert after tomorrow's roast. Looking forward to that!

Pie, mash, and mushy peas, with a little glass of cider

It was also nice to get dressed up a little. It's a casual place, but it still felt like a bit of a special occasion, I was looking forward to it and wanted to feel good, so I put on my favourite jumper (which I haven't worn since last winter because I live in my hoody at home and have barely been anywhere else this year), my favourite ring (I very rarely wear jewellery), a bobble hat (obviously only for walking to and from the car), and a long thick cardigan/light jacket thing I got back in August but couldn't find anything it looked okay with (glad I have now!). Plus black skinny jeans and my lovely comfy winter boots. It was still a fairly casual look, but I liked it :) 

Selfie

I must go to Piecaramba and Winchester more often. And I need to go to Tom's Deli, a just-as-small Italian deli and restaurant that I've been to only once. 

...I can't believe I've written so much just about a restaurant, haha.